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A $95,000 question: why are whites five times richer than blacks in the US?
• Study finds gaping racial divide in household assets
• Economic policies blamed for growing inequality
A huge wealth gap has opened up between black and white people in the US over the past quarter of a century – a difference sufficient to put two children through university – because of racial discrimination and economic policies that favor the affluent.
A typical white family is now five times richer than its African-American counterpart of the same class, according to a report released today by Brandeis University in Massachusetts.
White families typically have assets worth $100,000 (£69,000), up from $22,000 in the mid-1980s. African-American families' assets stand at just $5,000, up from around $2,000
A quarter of black families have no assets at all. The study monitored more than 2,000 families since 1984.
"We walk that through essentially a generation and what we see is that the racial wealth gap has galloped, it's escalated to $95,000," said Tom Shapiro, one of the authors of the report by the university's Institute on Assets and Social Policy.
There were also social factors, the study found. "In African-American families there is a much larger extended network of kin as well as other obligations. From other work we've done we know that there's more call on the resources of relatively well-off African-American families; that they lend money that's not given back; they help cousins go to school. They help brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, with all kinds of legal and family problems," said Shapiro.
Originally posted by RestingInPieces
Well, the reason BLACKS don't have as much money as WHITES is because BLACKS have bigger families. They also lend money that is never paid back, and help cousins go to school. They also help their brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. They help the family out with legal and family problems too.
Thats why BLACKS have less money than whites.
.... No, seriously. It is, lol.
Originally posted by dolphinfan
reply to post by Niccawhois
When 70% of black kids are born into single parent families they are destined to not be successful. The incidents of drug and alcohol abuse, criminal conduct, high school drop rates are all significantly higher in single parent families, white or black.
Welfare, which starting in the 60s devalued the black family and eroded the social consequences of not creating and maintaining a nuclear family is the reason for these statistics.
Originally posted by dolphinfan
When 70% of black kids are born into single parent families they are destined to not be successful. The incidents of drug and alcohol abuse, criminal conduct, high school drop rates are all significantly higher in single parent families, white or black.
Welfare, which starting in the 60s devalued the black family and eroded the social consequences of not creating and maintaining a nuclear family is the reason for these statistics.
Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
reply to post by Niccawhois
Personally, I think the whole study is bunk unless we can see how the figures were arrived at.
If Billionaires like Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates and the WalMart heirs, etc., are being included when averaging "white" assets, it can make the numbers look absolutely ridiculous.
"Averaging" can be highly misleading. For example, the oft repeated and technically true statement that the "average life expectancy was 40 at the turn of the century."
Its true, but only because of the way averages work. The reason the "average" age of death was so low was because of a very high infant mortality rate. If you factored that out, people who made it to adulthood lived only about 5-7 years less than we do now on average.
So, without seeing how they arrived at this average, I wouldnt get too riled up either way.
Originally posted by dolphinfan
reply to post by Niccawhois
When 70% of black kids are born into single parent families they are destined to not be successful. The incidents of drug and alcohol abuse, criminal conduct, high school drop rates are all significantly higher in single parent families, white or black.
Welfare, which starting in the 60s devalued the black family and eroded the social consequences of not creating and maintaining a nuclear family is the reason for these statistics.